May 2006アーカイブ

The other day, I went to a stationery shop to buy Post-it; but I could not find anything like the ones we have in Japan. There were only big ones on which you can write things down. There were not small ones that you use just to mark a page. They don’t regard such a function as an enough function? They don’t spend money for such a little thing?

I heard that the design of Post-it became a part of MOMA’s permanent collection. I wonder whether it is a big one, or a small (normal) one we have in Japan? There is a big difference between these, I think.

There aren’t many stationery shops in Amsterdam; and even the ones that are around have fewer items, and they are generally more expensive. Not so much fun to visit them. After the stationery shop, I visited a shop specialized in fountain pens. It was fun. Fountain pens are really cool. I don’t use them though.

This is already summer here in Amsterdam. An early summer. We can even go for swim in a beach. People are enjoying the sun; they are out of doors all day, sitting, lying down, eating, drinking beer and walking around, to make up for the bad weather of the last few months.

As everyone else, I cannot confine myself in my studio in such weather. I often go for a stroll here and there. The other day, I found on the river bank a plant that looks very similar to shiso (a Japanese herb). ‘Is it a family of shiso? Maybe this is edible?’ I put my face close to this plant to check its scent. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my nose. Half crying, I took a closer look at the leaves. They have very fine prickles on the surface. The pain was so great that I even thought these prickles are poisonous. The pain lasted about 15 minutes. It was such a pain that I thought I might find my nose all red and swollen the next morning. Some plants can be dangerous, if you don’t know anything about them.

The Amsterdam Zoo has a room of stuffed animals. The way they display these animals is a bit strange. For example, there are miniature Dutch houses (Delft ware) as a kind of scenery, so the animals look like giants. There is also a stuffed ‘unicorn’ – they added the horn. This is what I call the relaxed Dutch-style display... but I quite like it.

Finally it is spring! I heard that this year the season is about six-week behind the usual in the Netherlands. It has been sooooo cold. There is a zoo in front of my apartment. At night, I can hear cries of various animals, and from the balcony, I can see a mother seal acting up a ‘body-attack’ to her children. This zoo also has an aquarium and a planetarium. Last weekend, I went for a stroll in the zoo. The photos are from then.